Blackhawks rewind: Red Wings series

Seabrook's overtime winner in Game 7 a theatrical ending to dramatic series

June 25, 2013|By Colleen Kane, Chicago Tribune reporter

Before Brent Seabrook debuted his new persona named "Mr. Overtime," before the Blackhawks hurtled toward the brink of elimination and clawed back again, the task of disposing of the seventh-seeded Red Wings in the Western Conference semifinals appeared easy enough.

Against a Wings team weary from traveling to Anaheim for its first-round series, the Hawks bombarded goaltender Jimmy Howard with 41 shots to strut away from the United Center with a 4-1 victory in Game 1.

Early assessments decried a rivalry past its prime.

Three nights later, the Wings halted the early celebration, and the rivalry added a dramatic chapter worthy of the teams' final playoff meeting as division rivals.

"Maybe after the first game we thought it was going to be an easy series or we had a lot of confidence in here," Hawks winger Patrick Kane said after rookie Brendan Smith scored the winner in the Wings' 4-1 victory in Game 2. "By no means is it going to be an easy series or a cakewalk."

The Hawks lost home-ice advantage after that reversal in Game 2, and behind Howard, who made 222 saves in the series, the Wings looked like a peaking team, outscoring the Hawks 9-2 in three games to take a 3-1 series lead. Kane was the only Hawks player to score during that stretch.

"Eventually, something has to give," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "We're too good a team. We have too much talent. For as hard as we're working, something has to go our way."

Toews was speaking after frustrations ballooned into a meltdown in Game 4.

In the midst of a nine-game scoreless streak, Toews racked up three penalties in a span of 5 minutes, 34 seconds, and the Wings scored on one of their power plays on the way to a 2-0 victory. It was the first time the Hawks were shut out all season.

"We'd like to keep him in the box," Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson said of Toews after the game. "He's not as good for them in the box."

The Hawks were left searching for a way to join the 24 teams in history that had rallied from down 3-1 in a best-of-seven series.

The end of the Toews drought certainly helped.

He scored on the Hawks' erratic power play and so did Andrew Shaw to help break open the flood gates against Howard in a 4-1 Game 5 win. The Hawks followed it up by scoring three goals in the third period of Game 6, a product of a few inter-period locker-room speeches to remind the Hawks what it was they were chasing.

Bryan Bickell scored his second goal in as many games, but Michael Frolik was the player whose goal ultimately staved off elimination in a 4-3 victory. It came on a penalty shot after Carlo Colaiacovo was called for slashing as Frolik sped toward the goal on a breakaway. Frolik sent a backhand shot past Howard for his second career penalty-shot playoff goal, the first player in league history to accomplish such a feat.

Teammate Niklas Hjalmarsson was shocked by the move he said he had never seen in practice.

"I didn't have anything to lose," Frolik said. "I have a few moves, and this is one of them. I tried some moves on Jimmy Howard before, and they didn't work out. This one I didn't try, so I said, 'Let's give it a shot,' and it worked out."

Said the Hawks' Michal Handzus, who also scored: "Games like this, you'll remember the rest of your life."

Game 7 provided the fittingly theatrical end.

With 1:49 to play in regulation and the game tied at 1-1, Hjalmarsson sent the United Center into a frenzy when he appeared to score the winning goal. But it was disallowed because referee Stephen Walkom had whistled the play dead before the goal to call coincidental minor penalties.

It was the second disallowed goal for the Hawks in the series after Viktor Stalberg's was waived off because Shaw was called for goaltender interference in Game 3.

"I almost threw my stick up in the crowd," Hjalmarsson said of the Game 7 call. "I got pretty mad. I got pretty happy when I scored; I was probably looking like a fool when I was celebrating in the middle of the ice. Kind of a rollercoaster there."

In the end, it didn't matter, because Seabrook morphed into Mr. Overtime — a nickname bestowed on him by Patrick Sharp when his extra-period heroics cropped up in the Stanley Cup Final as well.

Seabrook's shot deflected off the Wings' Niklas Kronwall and past Howard to give the Hawks a 2-1 win 3:35 into overtime.

"Shooting pucks around in the front yard, against the garage, breaking garage doors, that's always something you think about — scoring the overtime winner," Seabrook said. "I didn't really know what to do with all that room."

Seabrook's goal capped a thrilling comeback for the Hawks, but when it was over, they were only halfway through their playoff run. Next up: the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings.

"It's not going to get any easier, that's for sure," Sharp said. "Hopefully, we can raise our level."